Librivox recording of Five Days in a Balloon by Jules Verne. Translated by William Lackland.
Read by Alex C. Telander.

Join three intrepid explorers as they seek to cross and explore the continent of Africa from Indian Ocean to Atlantic Ocean, except they’re doing it by hot air balloon. Scholar and scientist Samuel Ferguson, his manservant Joe, and his friend Richard “Dick” Kennedy engage in this mighty scientific feat, as they face danger after danger, enjoy adventure after adventure, and experience the literal highs and lows of Africa from the view of a hot air balloon. (Summary by Alex C. Telander)

M4B format available


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This audio is part of the collection: The LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection
It also belongs to collections: Audio Books & Poetry; Community Audio

Artist/Composer: Jules Verne
Date: 2008-11-15
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobooks; adventure; hot air balloon; Africa; Jules Verne

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: robcat2075 - - August 3, 2010
Subject: A Ripping Yarn.
Once you get past the first few "Mr. Explainer" chapters, this is a pretty good adventure tale with many classic elements that may be a bit too familiar to us now after 80 years of Hollywood movies.

Many of the story points depend on African natives behaving badly so it's unlikely this could be transferred intact to a movie today, although one was made in the 60's (with Barbara Eden and Fabian).

If you can forgive that and Verne's rather limited knowledge of Africa itself, you'll like it.

The reader, Alex C. Telander, is somewhat disappointing. He reads so fast that he is often mumbling. It's certainly not a dramatic reading of the text.